City Council to seek state law to maintain seal colony

SAN DIEGO – The City Council voted 7-1 on Tuesday to seek state legislation that could leave intact a seal colony at Children's Pool beach in La Jolla after years of legal battles to remove the animals.

Given the council's action and support by Mayor Jerry Sanders, state Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, said she will introduce a bill to give San Diego leeway in determining the seals' fate. Currently, the city is bound by an agreement with the state to maintain Children's Pool as a swimming area for people.

It is under court order to reduce bacterial contamination at the site, which could involve scaring away the seals and dredging the beach.

“I am happy to work with the City Council members and give them the tools they need to resolve the seals issue,” Kehoe said after the hearing. “This is a decision that needs to be made at the city level, and I hope to help San Diego do that ”

Kehoe has until Feb. 27 to introduce a bill, which would likely take months to work through the Legislature. If the measure is signed into law, the council would likely face another debate about whether to let the seals stay. Dozens of people on both sides of the long-running controversy showed up at City Hall on Tuesday for the council's discussion of the seals resolution.

“It does not take the City Council off the hot seat,” said Councilman Carl DeMaio. “This provides us legal room to make a decision.”

During the Tuesday meeting, some council members voiced strong support for the seal colony. They said it's an attraction for tourists and a boon for residents interested in the ocean.

“This opportunity to connect with nature is a draw,” said Councilman Todd Gloria.

He backed the resolution because it offers San Diego a chance to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars of cleanup work at the site and could get the city out of two related lawsuits.

“It's the right thing to do from a fiscal standpoint,” said Councilman Kevin Faulconer, a professed fan of the seals.

“My concern is that this attempt to make the litigation go away will be more costly than ... abiding by the court order,” she said.

More than 100 harbor seals live at the cove, and tens of thousands of people visit the site each month.

Seal advocates hailed the council's decision even though there's no certainty the Legislature will grant the city's wishes in a year when most of the political attention is focused on budget issues.

“This is the right thing to do fiscally and environmentally,” said Dorota Valli, Seal Watch campaign coordinator for the nonprofit Animal Protection and Rescue League in San Diego. “It will take a long time, but I am positive that it will pass the Legislature because the bill will not cost the state any money.”